Beyond help

Author: KoriSevenEleven

Summary: Kori is a unique girl…she has morphing powers, she is actually well over 100 years old though she looks 16…and she's got some serious boy problems.

Chapter 01

I had no leads.

I couldn't pick up his scent.

I was lost in the worst possible area of Gotham city.

Yeah, but fortunately, these things are trivial. I looked around my surroundings and saw that I was in a darkened alley. The only living things I saw were the rats that were scurrying around in the dumpster which was overflowing with week-old garbage. I felt the strong urge to vomit and left the alley.

I shook my bangs out of my eyes and looked around the empty street. It seemed empty to the naked eye, so, with the technology that my late mentor made for me, I pressed the almost invisible button on the side of my mask, activating the ultraviolet light.

I looked down at the sidewalk and street and was surprised to see what looked like bloody footprints heading off down the sidewalk toward yet another empty alley (someone had obviously either wanted to cover their footprints or one of the shop owners cleaned it before I got there). I furrowed my brow and followed them cautiously until I was standing in the alley's entrance.

At the very end was a group of thugs rolling dice and, surprise, there was what looked like dried blood on the sole of one of the man's shoes. I quietly bent down and gently dipped my gloved finger into one of the footprints that had not been cleaned and held it to my nose.

At once, a stream of visions flashed before my eyes and I had to fight to control them.

A dark-haired figure in a fight with a possible informant, bleeding from the side…

A blurred picture of what looked like a bird with its wings outstretched…

Two shadows falling from a rigged trapeze…

My eyes flashed open.

Yes, this was the blood of the one I was looking for. I stood and walked to the end of the alley, crossing my arms over my chest and saying,

"Excuse me gentlemen…"

The thugs immediately looked around at me and gasped.

"Y-You're that morpher! That bat freak's lackey!"

I blinked politely and said,

"You know who I am? I'm touched…however…"

I flexed my claws and grabbed the one who had spoken by the collar and pushed him up against the wall, holding the other down by forcefully placing my foot at his throat, giving him only enough air to take wheezy gasps.

"You slandered my master's good name…and for that, you'll have to pay…unless I get some information…"

"W-What information? If it's about the dice, then…"

"Shut it! It's not about your stupid gambling! The information I want is about a man who calls himself 'Nightwing'."

The man I was holding looked around and said,

"I-I don't know nothin' about no Nightwing! Honest!"

I scoffed.

"As if a gangster could ever hope to be honest, now tell me how…"

A surprising blow on the back of my head caused me to lose my grip and I fell to my knees. The man on the ground was laughing and looking at someone behind me.

"Alright! 'Bout time you showed up, we was getting' the third degree from this here freak!"

"Came as soon as I could."

I whipped around and clawed at the man holding the metal pipe and managed to tear holes in his pants…guess I had underestimated the distance between him and me…if only my mentor had seen that screw-up…

Before I could even blink, they were raining blow after blow onto me, giving me no time to morph, so I fought back with my fists.

Even with my natural abilities, I was still outnumbered three to one and losing. Just as I vaulted over the dumpster and landed a kick to one of the thug's heads, something fell onto the scene that I hadn't counted on.

A smokescreen ball.

It burst open immediately and filled the narrow alley way with pitch black smoke, causing me to cough and cover my mouth and nose. I hastily hit the button on my mask and switched it to infrared.

Much to my surprise, I found that the smoke seemed to have an actual form. It was thick and dense, effectively obscuring even my infrared vision. I switched the vision to the sound wave detection and once again found that it was useless. Just as I was going to switch it back to ultraviolet, I sustained another heavy blow to my head, and I passed out.

When I woke, I saw that I was in what looked like an abandoned sewer main. It reminded me of the room that belonged to the Rat boy, just less cluttered. I was on a surprisingly comfortable bed and my mask was off…as well as my suit…

I bolted upright in bed and looked around for it, relying on my sense of smell since the suit smelled like Egyptian cotton, the fabric it was made from.

"Lay back down, you'll only succeed in hurting yourself."

I gasped at the voice and made to stand up but was forced back down by a strong hand. I growled like a caged animal and grabbed a hold of the arm that was moving away from me, pulling it to me.

A tall, well built man stepped out from the shadow that he had been hiding in (more like fell out since I had pulled his arm) and I felt my breath catch.

The man was dressed in a snug black suit with a blue bird with outstretched wings on the chest, a mask much like my own and long black hair that fell past his shoulders.

"Robin," I said.

He looked to the side and said,

"I'm Nightwing now."

I stood and pulled his face around to face mine, gently but firmly.

"You'll always be Robin to me," I said.

He was silent at first and I thought that I had angered him. I've faced an angry Robin plenty of times, but never an angry Nightwing. I slowly backed away one step before he grabbed me and pulled me close to him. I stiffened but the familiar feel of his body heat, the steady beat of his heart…they both caused me to relax to the point of being boneless in his iron grip.

I placed my hands, palm down, on his chest and rested my cheek on his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent. Frankincense and sandalwood…the two scents that best helped with depression and were often used in his baths as a kid when he was still recovering from the death of his parents.

"You smell the same," I said.

There was a low sound in his throat that could have been a laugh but he didn't laugh very often when I knew him so I dismissed it.

"You too…Clary sage and Neroli…still suffering from anxiety and insomnia, I take it?"

I nodded. That's how Robin and I used to be able to identify each other amongst the thousands of people in the city. Sure, a lot of people used sandalwood, but only Robin used it with frankincense…just as I was the only one in Gotham who used Clary sage (only Bruce was able to get it because both Robin and I were seen as 'troubled children' who the doctors thought would benefit from its use.)

He slowly let me go, dropping his hands down to the small of my back, a gesture that suggested that he still harbored a soft spot for me.

In turn, I wrapped my arms around his neck and tucked my face into his neck, causing a nearly visible shiver to go down his spine at the feel of my breath on his skin.

"I want you to come back," I said quietly.

His brow furrowed and he shook his head.

"I can't."

I picked my head up and looked angrily at him. Before I could ask a question though, he looked sharply at me and said,

"I refuse to return so long as the Batcave is still in operation…there's too many bad memories there."

I growled again and said,

"Bruce Wayne is dead, Dick…the only person who uses the Batcave now is the one who's taken over for him."

Robin flinched at my use of his first name. Whenever I had used it in the past, he had been on the receiving end of one of my tirades, which eventually led to a physical fight between the two of us…God, I really hoped that didn't happen this time…I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt him after meeting up with him again after nearly nine years.

"Besides, the Batcave isn't filled with only bad memories…isn't that where you first found out about Bruce being Batman? And where he started training you to be Robin? Aren't those good memories? What about what else transpired in the Batcave? Was that a bad memory?!"

I was steadily filling with anger as I watched his seemingly emotionless face…even at the hint of our last encounter…just before he left…

I felt angry tears in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.

"What happened in the Batcave…was probably the single best thing that had ever happened to me next to becoming Robin…but…"

He opened his eyes and looked at me with that same emotionless look on his face.

"It shouldn't have happened…we both know that," he finished.

I inhaled sharply as if he had sucker punched me. It was too much for me to handle and the tears that had been teetering on the brim of my eyelid finally spilled over. By no means were they tears of sadness. On the contrary, they were tears of anger and hatred. Right now, I hated him. I hated every fiber of his being, from his stupid four-inch height advantage to his emotionless face…I wished that he had never become Robin…had never met me…had never…

I shoved him away with strength that surprised even me and looked away from him. I looked down at myself and saw the black cape he used to wear when he was still Robin had been wrapped around me.

I snorted and tore it off, standing there in nothing but my skin, and glared at him.

"As if you'd ever care about giving me a shred of dignity. You might as well have just left me for those thugs, they would probably have a real good time with me," I said spitefully.

I looked around for my suit and, spotting it draped over a nearby chair, went over to grab it. Before I could touch it, however, I was pulled against a hard body, my arms pulled back behind me in an almost painful position.

"I'm not denying that it was too amazing for words, but you know as well as I that it shouldn't have happened…there were too many consequences to name aside from the fact that it made saying goodbye all the harder…"

I tried to elbow him in the ribs, but he had my arms pinned to his body. I growled and struggled but he held me tight and wouldn't let me budge.

"But don't ever…" he gave me a particularly hard squeeze that made my breath catch. "suggest that I don't care about you. You hear me?"

Quick as lightning, he turned me around and I realized with a shock that he had removed his mask and his blue eyes were blazing.

"You were the only one in that miserable place that I really cared about. Really felt a connection with…Yeah, Bruce was great, when he wasn't Batman, but you…you were the closest thing to family that I had. Don't ever say that I don't care about you…ever!"

He almost shouted the last word. I felt authority radiating from him in waves and realized that I couldn't deter him from whatever path he was on now…I never would be able to… he'd never come back.

I looked away and came to a split second decision.

"If you don't come back with me now, then I'll move on…find someone else…I've waited too many years to count for you to come to your senses…and I refuse to wait any longer," I said.

I looked up at him and saw that his emotionless mask, which he had hastily replaced after his outburst, was cracking around the edges. So I added,

"From this moment on, we're enemies…if I catch you anywhere near Wayne Manor; I will not hesitate to kill you."

He flinched and let me go quickly as if my skin suddenly burned his hands. I tried to ignore the hurt in his eyes by turning around and pulling my suit on. I picked up my mask (so very like his) placed it on my face and turned to look at him.

He looked like he was having a massive internal struggle; his brows were knitted and his lower lip stuck out a little. For a brief moment, I saw the little boy that Bruce had taken in; the acrobat who reached star status before even hitting the double digits…the Boy Wonder…

I turned toward the entrance pipe and started to walk…pleading him with my mind to follow me, talk to me, look at me…

I blinked back tears and had to fight to not look over my shoulder.

Looking back at someone or something that you were leaving behind proved your weakness…but God was it hard to stare at the darkened pipe in front of me, when every muscle in my neck and back was telling me to turn around and look at him…run back to him and beat some sense into him like I used to when he was a kid…hold him close like I had been only moments before…

With a shaking hand, I pressed the button on the side of my mask, switching it to night vision. I could tell that he wanted to say something by the fluctuations in both the Broca and Wernicke areas of his brain, but he was having trouble forming the words into sentences.

The amygdale was giving off strong waves as well, the waves themselves being seen as colors. In this case it was bright orange, meaning he was feeling a strong negative emotion.

The brain stem was also out of whack by the sounds of his heavy breathing and pounding heart, indicating nervousness and possible fear; both emotions rarely shown by the former Boy Wonder on a regular basis.

I waited for the barest moment before stretching my arms and pushing off with my feet into the darkness of the tunnel.

I didn't spare a backward glance as I reached an open manhole and flew up and out into the city. It was nearing dawn, but I chose not to bother going to bed for school.

Not like I would be able to concentrate anyway…if my own amygdale and brain stem were anything to go by.

I landed in front of my brother's apartment building, but didn't go up. I tucked myself away in the alley near the front door, brought my legs to my chest, folded my arms over the tops of my knees, and sobbed into them.

He wasn't Robin anymore…he wasn't the teenage boy that I fell in love with…

That fact, above all else, is what hurt the most.